As Cumbria’s Astro Soccer Sixes football league celebrates its 20th anniversary, its longest-serving player has hailed the work of organiser Billy Rafferty.

Former Carlisle United favourite Rafferty formed the league in 1998, with Unwin Jones Partnership having been involved since the start.

One of their players, Jez Marvin, a director at Unwin Jones, has played in every season. He hailed the work Rafferty puts in.

Marvin said: “What is amazing is Billy knows everybody’s name. There are three pitches and five or six games a night, but he seems to know everyone’s name. That is incredible. People love going down.

“You can tell he loves it. From day one, he has been the heart and soul of it.”

Marvin says the leagues have always been popular.

“To be fair, I think it has always been pretty popular,” he said. “Quite a few five-a-side leagues have popped up but it has managed to keep going.”

Asked how Unwin Jones have fared, Marvin added: “We’ve had more mediocre seasons than good seasons!

“The thing is, because we have always been there, we’ve tended to be one of the older teams. Our average age is probably in our 40s. We’re playing against lads in our 20s and our legs stop working after a while.”

Marvin also says he enjoys the competitive nature of the Monday League, which allows him to socialise with work colleagues, although the make up of Unwin Jones’ side has changed significantly.

He said: “I play quite a lot of five-a-side but it’s nice to be in competitive leagues. That competitive edge makes it a bit more exciting.

“Because we have been playing for so long, the personnel changes year on year really, as people get too old, move away or have fallen out of love with it.”